Building block



Sept. 20, 1949. v. A. filGAUMONT BUILDING BLOCK 2 Shees-Sheet 1 FiledJan. 6, 1944 V V w INVENTOR M07004 lQ/ya z/m onf @rMQMvfiZf Sept. 20,1949. v. A. RIGAUMONT BUILDING BLOCK 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 6, 1944Patented Sept. 20, 1949 OFFICE Y J amaze) 7 B D ences. Victor A.Rigaumont g Pa. icate Jan ary 6, 19%; 's t se 2 Claims.

This invention relates to building member and; in particular to a brick'or block suited for the"construction of Walls' lvfa'so'nry' walls asconstructed of conventional brick are characterized"by' s eriousobjections.

Ihave invented a novel form of building brick 1;

or block which overcomes the aforementioned objections to conventionalbrick and also has'the advantage of using less mortar than "ordinarybricks when laid in a wall In a'prefer red embcdirnent, my brickcomprises a body portion having substantially the shape of a rightrectangular prism withintegral spacer ribsextendin along the top'faceand; one endface, the' ribs being adjacent the side faces of thebodyportion but spaced slightly inwardly therefrom. My rick also has araised portion extending along the bottom and upwardly across one endface. This. brick is suitedfor' use as a stretcher. I also'providebricks. having the same novel features but'with suitable modificationsfor use as he ders and at inside and outside corners.

Further details, novel featuresand. advantages of the invention willbecome apparent during the following complete,- descriptidn thereofwhich refers to the accompanying drawings" illustrating a few forms ofthe brick'ofjmyirivention, In the drawings, Figure 1 isja plan view ofmy stretcherbrick; Figure'2 is'an end view looking from the leftjinFigure 1;- Figure3 isan-end view looking from the right. in Figure 1;Figure '4 is a side elevation;

Figure 5 is a bottom plan view; Fig-tire 6fi's partial'sect throughadjacent invention;-' Figure :T'isa plan view of abri'ck for outsidecorne r 'in a str tc er course; I

Figureii'iis asideeievation thereof:

( o1. da-esi Figure 9 is a rear elevation thereof; Figure I'Oisa plan-'i 'iewbfa brick suited for use at 'an' inside corner o'f'a headercoarser wall composed of brick ofiny invention;

"Referrin'g in 'd'etail'to the drawingsand, for the present; to'Figures1 through5,my-"stretcher brick l0 comprises abody .portion *ll having-ashape of a right rectangular lprism.=- in fact; the body portion-l Imaybe zsimilar in size and shapeto conventional-brick. Spacerribs"l2*andl3 extend along the top .faceof the body portion adjacent thesidefaces thereof but shaped inwardly there-'- from1- The-ribs-l2 and I3are-preferablyformed integral withut'he body portion; The ribs Wand I3continue-downwardlyacross one end face of the body-portion as indicatedat M and I5. The

' heightof the ribsispreferably about equal to the coursesone"brick"-deep; brickof thickness of mortar used in layingconventionalbricks. A raised-p0rtion-or key Iii-extends centrally along the bottomface of-the body portion and continues upwardly as-at Il across the endface thereof- 'opposite that on which the ribs l4 and; Hare-formed. Theraised-portion is also preferably formed-integral with the body portion.

It will, be apparent that-the brick l0 may be made by the conventionalextrusion method'with special provisions for'cutting the ends to thedesired shape, as shown'in-Figures- 1 and 5.

Figurefi illustrates a portion of a well laid up with bricks of'myinvention; As clearly shown; the ribs l2 and l3 serve to separate thebody porti-ons of brick of adjacentcoursesfrom each other by apredetermined spacing which is the same in all cases. The positioningvof the ribs IZV-and l 3tinwardly from the side facesof the body por tiongives th'appearance of raked joints the finishd 'wallf Inlaying" thebricks of my inventiohJth'e ribs [land l3 are disposed uppermost,asshown inFi'gure' 6, andmortar' is placed Ebetweenithem, as" shown an.When bricks are laiddn. a, preceding'cours. the raisedIpoi-tion 'l lipenetrates the remained, when the latter has st, elifectivel'y keys'adiacent courses',fthereby p'ro' viding siulo'staritial'resistanmetolateral thrust.

A considerable savin in mortar is eifected by reason of the fact thatthe raised portion l6 depends into the mortar space between the ribs l2and I3. It will be understood that the mason will judge the amount ofmortar required, making sure to err on the side of too little ratherthan too much, since it is not essential that the mortar space beentirely filled. As a matter of fact, even if too much mortar isapplied, the brick may be so laid that the excess will be squeezed outat one end and will not interfere with the proper seating of the brickof one course on the ribs of the bricks of the preceding course. Thismay be done by pressing the end of the brick being laid, down on theribs of the preceding course at the end adjacent the last brick laid,and then pressing down the other end of the brick. This eliminates theloss of mortar which occurs in the laying of a wall with conventionalbricks when the mason strikes the joints to cut ofi excess mortarsqueezed out at the side as the bricks arepressed down in the mortar.Since the bricks are not mortared to the extreme edges, and the ribsconfine the mortar applied, there is no slopping of mortar down thesides of the Wall, thus -efiecting a further saving in the amount ofmortar used.

It will be apparent that the joint 19 between the ribs of one course andthe bottom of the bricks of the next course above is protected from theweather by the overhang of the brick thereabove. 'By reason of thisfact, rain striking the outside of a wall composed of my bricks is shedeffectively. The rain water running down the face of a brick falls offof the overhanging lower edge, instead of tending to flow through thejoint. This practically eliminates seepage and makes the wall thoroughlyweather tight since leakage of cold air is prevented in the same manneras the seepage of rain water. 'At the end joints between bricks, asimilar water and air stop results from the cooperation of the raisedportion 11 at the end of one brick with the ribs I4 and I5 at the end ofthe abutting brick, as clearly shown in Figure 16, which will bereferred to in due course. Even if rain water should seep through thejoint on the outer side of the wall, it is eiTectively stopped by therib on the inner side, since the latter constitutes a continuousbarrier.

Figures '7, 8 and 9 show aspecial form of brick for use in stretchercourses at the outside corner of a Wall, such as that illustrated at 2!in Figure 16. The brick 20 has ribs 22 and 23 like the ribs l2 and I3 ofbrick 10. A rib 24 forms a continuation of rib 22 across one end of thebrick. The rib 23 terminates short of that end of the brick. Ribs 25 and26 extend downwardly across a side face of the brick from the ends ofribs 23 and 24. The brick 20 also has a raised portion or key 2'!disposed centrally of the bottom thereof and a corresponding portion 28extending upwardly from the bottom across the other end of the brick. Asclearly shown in Figure 16, the bricks 20 at the outside corner 2! ofthe wall cooperate with the bricks in courses at right angles to eachother. That is to say, the left-hand end of the brick 2|], as shown inFigures '7 and 8, engages the ribbed end of the stretcher brick ID inthe same manner as the abutting ends of all adjacent bricks. At the sametime, the side of the brick 28 having the ribs 25 and 26 has the samerelation to the adjacent end of an abutting brick. The rib 24,furthermore, provides a continuous water stop across the end 4 of thebrick and leaves the wall corner fully finished.

Bricks 20a generally similar to but difiering slightly from bricks 20are laid at the inside corner 2 la of stretcher courses.

It will be understood that while the corner 2| has been referred to asan outside corner and the corner 2la as an inside corner, it isimmaterial which one is considered the outside or the inside sinceeither face of the wall of Figure 16 could be considered the interior.

Figures 10, 11 and 12 show a brick 29 adapted to be laid in headercourses at an inside wall corner such as shown at 30 in Figure 17. Thebrick 29 has ribs 3| and 32 corresponding to the ribs l2 and it of brickH). A rib 33 continues from one end of rib 3| across the width of thebrick. The rib 32 terminates short of that end of the brick. Ribs 3-4and 35 extend downwardly from the ribs 3! and 32 across the other end ofthe block. A centrally disposed raised portion or key 36 is formed onthe bottom of the brick and a similar portion 3'! on one side betweenthe ribs 32 and 33. The bricks 29, as shown in Figure 17, have the isame engagement with adjacent header bricks 33 in courses at rightangles as is provided between adjacent header bricks laid side by side,in the portions of the wall between corners.

Figures 13, 14 and 15 illustrate the header or bonder brick 38 for usein the header'courses which are laid at intervals in the building up ofa wall. The header brick has spacer ribs 39 and 4!} extending across thetop adjacent each end but spaced slightly inwardly thereof. Spacer ribs41 and 42 continue downwardly across one side face from the ribs 39 and40. Spaced raised portions or keys 43 and 44 extend across the bottomface of the brick and similar raised portions 55 and 46 extend upwardlyfrom the bottom across the side face opposite that on which the ribs 4|and 42 are formed.

Figure 17 shows how the header bricks 38 engage each other when laid upin a course. It will be evident that the ribs 39 and serve as spacersand water stops in the same manner as the ribs i2 and I3 of thestretcher brick-s l0. Figure 17 also shows bricks 41 for use in headercourses at outside corners such as 48. These bricks are not identicalwith the bricks 20 and 23 but are generally similar thereto and thedetails of the former will be apparent from the above description of thelatter, taken together with the showing of Figure 17. Figure 17 alsoillustrates half bricks 49 which are needed to fill out the headercourse adjacent the corners. These half bricks are similar to the bricksl0 but are only half the length thereof.

Figure 18 illustrates the appearance of a corner in a wall composed ofbricks according to my invention. As is shown, the wall has theappearance of an ordinary brick wall with raked joints. The spacingbetween bricks is uniform, however, since the body portion of each brickis seated firmly on the ribs on top of the brick in the course below.The joints between the ribs of one brick and the body portion ofadjacent bricks thus appear merely as fine lines and are particularlyinvisible.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description that my invention ischaracterized by numerous advantages over conventional bricks. In thefirst place, the spacing between adjacent bricks is uniform at allpoints, as explained above. The interfitting ribs and raised portions ofadjacent bricks further provide a mechanical interlock which impartsgreat strength to the Wall in resistance to lateral thrust. The spacingof the ribs inwardly from the side faces of the bricks gives thefinished wall the appearance of having been laid with raked joints. Thisis one of the more costly finishes when used in a Wall composed ofconventional brick but does not introduce any additional expense in-awall constructed of bricks of my invention. The function of the ribs inproviding a stop against the entry of wind and water has already beensufficiently explained as has also the matter of saving in mortarefiected by my invention as compared with conventional construction ofmasonry walls.

Although I have disclosed but a few forms of bricks embodying theprinciple of my invention, it will be apparent that other forms may beprovided utilizing similar principles, for various special functions.Such modifications of the general idea may, of course, be made withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appendedclaims.

1. A building block comprising a body having two opposite ends and fourlateral sides defining a right rectangular prism, a pair of spaced ribsprojecting integrally from two contiguous lateral sides of said body,and a plurality of spaced keys keys projecting integrally from the othertwo lateral sides of said body, said ribs and keys all extendingparallel to said opposite ends of the body, one rib being adjacent oneof said ends and the other rib being adjacent the other of said ends,and said keys being spaced substantially further inwardly of said endsthan said ribs, and the projection of said ribs from said body beinggreater than the projection of said keys from said body, whereby aseries of such blocks in a 'wall are in contact with each other onlywhere the ribs of the respective blocks are in contact with the lateralsides of adjacent blocks, the keys of each block being entirely out ofcontact with any portion of the adjacent blocks.

2. A building header block comprising a body having two opposite endsand four lateral sides defining a right rectangular prism, a pair ofNumber spaced ribs of equal and substantially sduai cross-sectionprojecting integrally from two contiguous lateral sides of said body,and a pair of spaced keys of equal and substantially rectangularcross-section projectin integrally from the other two lateral sides ofsaid body, said ribs and keys all extending parallel to said oppositeends of the body, one rib being adjacent one of said ends and the otherrib being adjacent the other of said ends, and said keys being spacedsubstantially further inwardly of said ends than said ribs, and theprojection of said ribs from said body being about twice the projectionof said keys from said body, whereby a series of such blocks in a wallare in contact with each other only where the ribs of the respectiveblocks are in contact with the lateral sides of adjacent blocks, thekeys of each block being entirely out of contact with any portion of theadjacent blocks.

. VICTOR A. RIGAUMONT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Van Camp Sept. 8, 1903 Clehous June 3, 1913 TalbotMay 17, 1921 Kroonen Apr. '10, 1923 Stevens Aug. 16, 1927 Willetts May13, 1930 Pedersen Sept. 17, 1935 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date GreatBritain Mar. 1, 1906 Great Britain Aug. 17, 1926 Great Britain Apr. 28,1932 Great Britain Apr. 26, 1937 Great Britain Apr. 30, 1940 France Aug.2, 1921 Great Britain Oct. 22, 1941 Lahmann May 6, 1902 Patent No.2,482,719 September 20, 1949 Certificate of Correction VICTOR A.RIGAUMONT It is hereby certified that errors appear in the printedspecification of the above numbered patent requiring correction asfollows:

Column 2, line 23, for shaped read spaced; column 4, lines 68 and 69,for particularly read practically; and that the said Letters Patentshould be read with these corrections therein that the same may conformto the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 17th day of January, A. D. 1950.

THOMAS F. MURPHY,

Assistant Commissioner of Patents.

